ASIFA-Hollywood, an American non-profit organization in

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, is a branch member of the "Association Internationale du Film d'Animation" or "ASIFA" (the

International Animated Film Association The International Animated Film Association (French: ''Association Internationale du Film d'Animation'', ASIFA) is an international non-profit organization founded in 1960 in Annecy, France, by the best known animation artists of the time such a ...

). Its purpose is to promote the art of film animation in a variety of ways, including its own archive and an annual awards presentation, the

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desig ...

. It is also known as the International Animated Film Society. Many branches of ASIFA exist throughout the world; in the US there are chapters in

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, the

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area, and others, while internationally, organizations exist in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

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, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. ASIFA also sponsors several animation

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

s throughout the world, including the ASIFA-Hollywood Student Animation Festival. It includes a virtual archive, museum, library and research facility, containing the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Project.

History and projects of ASIFA-Hollywood

ASIFA-Hollywood was founded in 1957, by Bill Scott,

Stephen Bosustow Stephen Reginald Bosustow (November 6, 1911 in Victoria, British Columbia – July 4, 1981) was a Canadian-born American film producer from 1943 until his retirement in 1979. He was one of the founders of United Productions of America (UPA) and pr ...

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored ...

, William T. Hurtz, Les Goldman, and

Bill Littlejohn William Charles Littlejohn (January 27, 1914 – September 17, 2010) was an American animator and union organizer. Littlejohn worked on animated shorts and features in the 1930s through to the 1990s. His notable works include the ''Tom and Jerry ...

, and later chartered by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 1960.

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...

was another early member, and recalled that she joined "a year or so" after the organization was chartered. As of 2022, its board of directors includes Sue Shakespeare (President), David Derks (Vice-President),

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including ''The 50 Greatest C ...

(Vice-President), Brooke Keesling (Vice-President), Jeff Wike (Treasurer), Jeannette Bonds (Secretary), Paul Husband (General Counsel), J.J. Blumenkranz, Tom Caulfield, Dori Littell-Herrick, Jennifer Klein, Todd Kurosawa, Bob Kurtz, Aubry Mintz, Charles Solomon, William Turner, Danny Young, and Frank Gladstone (Executive Director).

The Annie Awards

Since 1972, ASIFA-Hollywood has hosted an annual awards ceremony to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the art of animation. Originally designed to honor the lifetime achievements of veterans of the field, the Annie Awards now recognizes the year's best animated productions and individual achievements in the field of animation. Qualified members participate in the nomination process and final voting.

Film preservation

Prior to 1950, motion pictures were shot and printed on unstable, flammable

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

stock that decomposed over time, placing many early animated films in danger of being

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

. Through the Animation Preservation Project, ASIFA-Hollywood seeks out to save endangered cartoons, and raises funds to preserve them on safety film stock and digital film.

References

External links

Official SiteASIFA-Hollywood TwitterASIFA-Hollywood FacebookASIFA Hollywood Youtube
{{Portalbar, Animation, Arts, Cartoon, Film, Visual arts Film archives in the United States History of animation Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles International Animated Film Association Educational organizations based in the United States Cinema of Southern California UNESCO